Hoogerheide, The Netherlands, January 2020. A round of the Cyclo-Cross World Cup. The father, Adrie Van der Poel, gives his name to the Grand Prix and draws the course. Mathieu, the son, waits behind the podium, well combed, when his victims swallow their tongues. “You’ll soon get to know me on the road,” he announces. We knew. Especially the contenders for the 2019 Amstel Gold Race, who had not seen the cheeky Corendon-Circus in the red and white jersey appear behind them in the Cauberg. He swallowed them, won, then collapsed, unaware of signing there the birth certificate of a refreshed cycling and of a team called to one day grab the light of the Tour de France 2023.
